Stories of the Japanese 01322 [Muromachi/Yoshimochi Period] The Legend of Oguri Hangan: Kumano Gongen

Taiku placed the body of the dying Oguri Hangan onto a cart and attached a sign that read, "This person is a patient heading to the hot springs of Kumano. Anyone who helps pull this cart, even a little, will receive merit greater than that of offering alms to a thousand monks." People along the road helped one after another, and upon reaching Kumano, Hangan was brought back to life by the benefits of the hot springs and the power of Kumano Gongen.
Hangan's innocence was recognized, and he was once again granted his lands in Hitachi. After defeating Yokoyama, Hangan began searching for Terute-hime, who had been working as a maid.
Terute-hime, who had witnessed Yokoyama's crime at that time, was captured by his cohorts and thrown into the Jiju River (Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture). She was rescued by a fisherman by chance, but was then abused by the fisherman's wife. The wife, suspecting an affair between her husband and Terute-hime, hung the princess from the branch of a pine tree in the backyard, piled pine branches and leaves underneath her, and set them on fire, intending to smoke her to death. That location is now called "Hime-kojima," near Kanazawa-hakkei Station (Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama City).
Although Terute-hime managed to avoid being killed, she was later sold to a slave trader at Mutsuura Beach (Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama City). Hangan, who had finally tracked her down, bought her back from the slave trader, and they married and lived happily in Hitachi.
The reason such an episode was created for Oguri Sukeshige is likely because it was widely believed that he had been "purged for a crime he did not commit."
Furthermore, according to an alternative theory, Oguri Hangan learned of Yokoyama's poisoning plot from Terute-hime, escaped the scene, and narrowly survived. He then married Terute-hime and lived happily, but later suffered from an eye disease and made a pilgrimage to the Kumano Grand Shrine.
This legend of Oguri Hangan seems to have been passed down in Kumano, even though it is hardly known in Oguri (Chikusei City, Ibaraki Prefecture). In fact, there are many historical sites related to Oguri Hangan around Kumano, such as:
o "Oguri no Yu," where it is said Oguri Hangan took his hot spring cure.
o "Oguri Hangan Kurazuka," said to be the place where he abandoned his cart because he could walk again.
o "Oguri Hangan Chikara-ishi," a stone he lifted to test his strength after his health improved.
o "Oguri Hangan Makazu no Ine" (The Rice That Was Not Sown), where rice grew on its own in the place where Terute-hime discarded the straw used to tie Oguri Hangan's hair, and from then on, rice grew every year without the need for sowing seeds.
and others.
The work that made the legend of Oguri Hangan famous all at once was the play "Tosei Oguri Hangan" written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon during the Edo period. It is believed that the public, captivated by this story, began visiting historical sites related to Oguri Hangan during their Kumano pilgrimages.